Many of us enjoy wearing woollen clothes, with the raw material often taken from sheep or goats. How many of us have stopped to think about where in the world our wool originates from?
With an increasing focus on the way in which the global economy works, particularly when it comes to being able to trace the items that we buy, many people are beginning to take much more of an interest in how their clothes are produced.
For some, there are questions to be asked a large clothing producers about the ethics behind their operations. For others, there's a wish to know that the production is sustainable, or that local produce is being used.
A publication called Wool Facts, produced in Australia, specifically looks to carry out analysis on where wool originates from. By looking at the latest set of figures (for the year 2005), we can get a breakdown of the biggest wool producing countries of the world.
The largest by far is Australia itself, which is responsible for some 25% of global wool production. With its vast resources and relatively low population, it will probably come as no surprise to see Australia at the top of the list, with its large rural economy.
The second biggest source of woollen production is China. Although we might not think of the Chinese as being big producers of wool, it's clear that this is a country that has long been interested in the use of fabrics.
In third position is New Zealand, with some 11% of global production. We are used to seeing New Zealand lamb on supermarket shelves, so it makes a lot of sense that they should also be major exporters of wool.
As well as taking wool from sheep, New Zealand also produced a high quality product from possums.
It's often forgotten that our woollen clothes are not always based on sheep's wool and can, in fact, come from a number of different animal sources.
As a footnote, you may surprise to hear that the United States is only responsible for 0.77% of global wool production.
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